Food Systems in a Globalized World: Where Does Our Food Come from and How Is It Produced? Study + Internship in Florence Program Spring 2024 Semester

Food systems are complex and interconnected webs of activities, resources and people involved in the production, processing, transformation, distribution and consumption of food. The organization of food systems reflects the intersection of historical, political, economic, social, health and environmental factors that made every society's food culture unique and distinctive. This course will explore the various and articulated connections between food systems and globalization. It will analyze the global food scene from an historical, political, economic and cultural perspective with a focus on Mediterranean diet, public health, migration, food production, distribution and sustainability, and Italy?s role in the global food economy. Furthermore it will explore the global threats of industrial food production from a public health perspective comparing the major health problems in Italy with global health trends focusing on public health initiatives to tackle obesity, overweight, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and cancer which became major public health issues in a globalized world, with a special focus on the recent epidemic of Covid-19 and the relationship with industrial food production and its impact on the global food systems.